San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1887-09-27

| besides, a smell of things connected with
| boats always lingering about his house;
| and though fishing nets were constantly
| spread over the garden or on the beach,
| there was very little fishing done.
Dan, farmer though he was, dressed
| habitually as boatnan. On Sundays
| in the summer he wore white ducks, a
| blue jacket with brass buttons and straw
| hat, just as if he was navy man. On
other days he wore great boats, a simple
| blue shirt and Il tarpaulin. Down in the
| bay there were three boats. One of these
| was safe, heavy built fishing smack.
| Dan called her the "Chace Mary" 1t
was good many years. before learned
to recognize in this rame the French
chasse maree. Dan p cked her up one
night abandoned in the channel. His eX-
| perience decided her origin and her name.
The boys and Joshua used now and then
to go out fishing in her, bringing home in
the morning a rich cargo Of bright and
beautiful fish. We kept the best for our
selves, and the rector never failed to come
for his 1.-THE of John Dory, bass, hake,
| pilchards or mackerel. The rest went to
Lyme to be sold.
The boat which lay beside the Chace
Mary was of very different build. She
would be called nOw-though her lines
would no longer find favor-a fifteen ton
| yacht slOop rugged. do not know where
Dan bought her; she was long and mar
row; she was decked she carried any
! amount of canvas, and she was, as Dan
often boosted, the very fastest boat in the
channel She was called the Dancing
Polly.
Hauled up on the beach was little
dingy, gay with bright paint, and pro-
vided with neat lug sail and spirit sail
and pair of SOULS. She belonged to me,
but was, of course, always at the service
of the firm.
For, not to delay any longer a confess
sion which must sooner or later be made,
we were all of us smugglers by trade, and
farmers by pretenSe. The ten acres of
barren cliff land could never have kept us
all during those hard times, even in a
poor way. We were gang of smugglers.
Dan was the head of the firm, by heredi
tary succession. His two boys were part
ners by the same right. Joshua Mech
was partner by grace and free gift of
Dan. |, Pleasance Noel, was an accom-
plice, alder, and abettOr.
In the reign of great George the Third
it was as impossible to make people be-
lieve that smuggling was wrong as to
knocking over hare in the field. To
evade the duty was meritoriOus. Then
there was the romance about the trade;
perils surrounded it on every side; across
the water you might be caught by the
French authorities, and kept in prison, or
even shot as a spy; or you might be picked
up by French privateer; or you might
be cut out by revenue cutter; or you
might be arrested while landing your
cargo. These things were considered, and
went to make a daring smuggler a sort Of
hero Lastly, all the country side stood
in with him. 1t vsas he who brought
over the best French brandy, packages Of
lace, boxes of gloves, or of perfumes; he
was the provider of otherwise unattain-
able Injuries; he was public benefactor.
In no country inn could you get such
spirits as came out Of the Illicit kegs;
when landlord had any, he would whis-
per its recommendation to a guest; the
squires bought it, the magistrates bought
it, the revenue officers bought it, the
clergy bought it; no one too good, too
highly placed, too scrupulous, to buy it. A
fine and flattering perfume of universal
gratitude perpetually sOothed the soul Of
Dan CULVER; the serse of heroic repu-
tation added dignity to a life which, if
spent only OH the farm, would have been
certainly monotonous, and probably igno-
BILE.
Gratitude among the people naturally
took the shape of completely. 1t some
times happened that Dams carts-thOse
innocent carts laden with poultry, vegeta-
bles or fish, which Job or Jephthah drove
into Lyme-were stopped and searched.
One would think that Dan was regularly
warned, because nothing was ever found
in them. If the revenue cutter CHANGED
to look in at ROusdOn bay, the Dancing
Polly was lying at anchor without the
least sign of an intended run, and Dan
would be calking the Chace Mary or
mendiug fishing nets or painting the
dingy, with grave face and twinkle in
his eye.
With fast boat like the Dancing
Polly, with four such handy boatmen as
the crew who manned her, the chief dan
ger was that of landing the cargo. 1t
was desirable to know before the run
where the revenue cutter was, this infor-
nation was got by myself, or by one OF
che boys, from the boatmen of ths cove
at Lyme or from the fishermen of Beer
She might have been heard of at Wey-
mouth or she might be lying in BridpOrt
Once when we thought she was away up
the Solent, she came out of Lulworth
cove and chased Dan Tor three long days,
so that he only got away without throw
ing his cargo overheard by the swiftness
of his heels and the providential interpo-
sition of fog. We had to get news from
Weymouth, from Swanage, Poole, Lynn
ington and Yarmouth in the west, as
from Beer, Sidmouth Ladram bay and
Dartmouth. The revenue cutter once
ascertained 10 be out of the way, there
was little or no danger of interference
from any of the shore going folk.
When all seemed safe as regards the
excise and run was resolved on, it was
brave to see the little craft, with Dan at
the "hellum," Job and Jephthah in the
bows and Joshua 'midships, beating her
way out Of the little narrow bay straight
out into the biackness beyond-fOr Dan
never started except at night and when
there WIS Il moonless sky. would stand
on the beach, the wind blowing my hair
about and the spray flying into my face,
to get the last sight Of the gallant boat.
Then l would go home and stay there
quite alone until they returned, in
couple of days or so, laden with the
brandy in kegs. / never had any fear for
them. Dan knew every inch of the
French and English coasts; he could steer
blindfOld; he could find ROusdOn bay in
H. n 4 Nu.